The Parent Project Annual Report 1 The Parent Project ® Final Evaluative Report Butler and Preble Counties, Ohio 2016-2017 Alexandria Intorcio, M.A. Research Associate, Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs, Miami University Dawna-Cricket-Martita Meehan, Ph.D. Director, Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs, Miami University Erin Paternite Eakin, M.S. Program Administrator, Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs, Miami University
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The Parent Project Annual Report 1
The Parent Project® Final Evaluative Report
Butler and Preble Counties, Ohio 2016-2017
Alexandria Intorcio, M.A. Research Associate, Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs, Miami University Dawna-Cricket-Martita Meehan, Ph.D. Director, Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs, Miami University Erin Paternite Eakin, M.S. Program Administrator, Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs, Miami University
The Parent Project Annual Report 2
Table of Contents
Overview of the Butler and Preble Counties Parent Projects 3 Demographics 4 Butler County 4 Preble County 8 Problem Identification 11 Butler County 12 Preble County 13 Family Functioning 13 Butler County 14 Preble County 15 Alabama Parenting Questionnaire 15 Butler County 16 Preble County 17 Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire 18 Butler County 19 Preble County 21 Parent Empowerment Survey 24 Butler County 24 Preble County 25 Why Try 26 Butler County 27 Preble County 28 Multi-Year Evaluation 30 Butler County 30 Preble County 37 Summary and Recommendations 42 Butler County 43 Preble County 43 Appendix A: Parent Comments Butler County 45 Appendix B: Parent Comments Preble County 47 Works Cited 48
The Parent Project Annual Report 3
Overview of the Butler and Preble Counties Parent Projects
The Parent Project is a comprehensive training program for parents and/or caregivers to
help them manage adolescent behavior. Parents of adolescents with a pattern of truancy or
suspension/expulsion occurrences were targeted for this project. Program goals included
enhancing parenting skills by providing concrete specific solutions to address problematic
behavior, fostering a stronger parent-child relationship, and providing emotional and practical
support. Trained facilitators helped parents learn and practice interventions for a wide range of
destructive behaviors and offered practical and emotional support. The trained facilitators all
successfully completed a forty-hour Parent Project train-the-trainer course.
Parent Project classes were 10 weeks in length and were held in a classroom setting. The
curriculum facilitators taught concrete identification, prevention, and intervention strategies for
the most destructive of adolescent behaviors, including poor school attendance/performance,
alcohol and drug use, gang involvement, incidents of running away, and violent behaviors.
Parents attended the program for 3 hours each night for the first six weeks and 2 hours each night
for the remaining four weeks. At the conclusion of the program, parents were encouraged to
continue with parent-led support groups within the community using group facilitation skills they
acquired through the curriculum.
The following report includes:
• Demographics of the participants
• Analysis of pre- and post-test quantitative and qualitative data taken from:
Ø Problem Identification Ø Family Functioning Questionnaire Ø Alabama Parenting Questionnaire Ø Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Short Form Ø Parent Empowerment Scale Ø Why Try Measure
o Recidivism data for Butler County
Ø Multi-Year Evaluation Data
• Summary and recommendations
The Parent Project Annual Report 4
Demographics
A battery of demographic information was collected on participants in the Parent Project.
Demographic questions are separated into a parent/caregiver section and a child section.
Butler County:
BC Parents/Caregivers:
In total, one hundred and twenty-eight (128) caregivers completed the demographic
questionnaire for the Parent Project evaluation for classes in Butler County. 80 caregivers
completed both pre-and post-test questionnaires (13 parents/caregivers had more than one child
participate; as such, they are only counted once for the parent demographic questions), 48
dropped out (5 caregivers had more than one child participate). Of the 91 attendees who have
‘sessions completed’ data recorded, 69.6% of parents or caregivers completed all ten sessions,
17.3% completed nine sessions, 3.3% completed eight sessions, and 3.3% completed seven or
fewer sessions. The fewest number of sessions attended was one session (1 caregiver). Session
attendance was counted for each caregiver’s child. 6 caregivers did not respond to this question.
Table 1: Number of sessions completed by families in Butler County
Figure 48: Multi-Year SDQ Pro-Social Subscale Response Difference Preble County
Additionally, data on the SDQ was analyzed using the aggregate differences in response to the
remaining, non-Pro-Social Subscale questions. Responses for these questions should be lower in
post-test than pre-test. The data moved in the desired direction and showed stronger negative
differences for 2016 than 2015. Figure 49: Multi-Year SDQ Average Differences Preble County
Finally, scores from the SDQ can be classified as Normal, Borderline, and Abnormal. Both 2015
and 2016 showed a decrease in Abnormal scores, roughly the same number of Borderline scores,
and an increase in Normal scores, thus indicating movement in the desired direction.
0.52
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0.17 0.20 0.19
0.000.06
0.33
0.11
-0.11 -0.2 -0.1
00.10.20.30.40.50.6
Considerofother'sfeelings*
Sharesreadilywithothers*
Helpfulifsomeoneis
hurt*
Kindtoyoungerkids*
Oftenofferstohelpothers*
Multi-YearSDQPro-SocialSubscaleAverageDifferences
2015 2016
-0.12
-0.28 -0.3
-0.25
-0.2
-0.15
-0.1
-0.05
02015 2016
Multi-YearSDQAverageDifferences
The Parent Project Annual Report 41
Figure 50: Multi-Year SDQ Score Classification Preble County
Parent Empowerment Survey:
Parents and caregivers were asked a battery of questions to indicate their feelings of
empowerment. Responses should be higher in post-test than pre-test data. Results for Preble
move in the desired direction with stronger average differences in response in 2015 than 2016. Figure 51: Multi-Year Parent Empowerment Survey Average Differences
Why Try:
Of all the tools in The Parent Project evaluation, Why Try is the only questionnaire that asked for
the youth voice. Young people were asked to complete this survey before and after participating
in Why Try – the youth companion to The Parent Project. The desired direction should show
higher response in post-test than pre-test; this pattern was yielded by data in Preble County with
a larger difference in average response in 2016. Figure 52: Multi-Year Why Try Average Differences Preble County
Summary and Recommendations
Overall:
The data collected during the life of The Parent Project in Butler and Preble Counties indicate
that, overall, the program has been successful. Facilitators were able to meet the overarching
goals of the program, equipping parents with the skills to handle their difficult or hard-to-manage
children. With varying magnitudes, data from each year shows movement in the desired
direction from each scale used in the evaluation toolkit. An overall increase in positive behaviors
and decrease in negative behaviors for two years consecutively in Preble County, and three years
consecutively for Butler County indicates a pattern of success. For each academic year, on all
evaluative measures, results indicated that parents, caregivers, and children had improved
following the completion of the Parent Project and the Why Try programs.
Based on a comparison of Butler and Preble Counties, the retention rate in Preble County is
much higher than in Butler. This may be due to the smaller number of classes in Preble County,
making it easier to follow up with participants and ensuring they complete both the pre- and
post-test forms. Offering incentives may be a good way to increase the completion rates of both
pre- and post-tests, particularly in Butler County. Further, facilitators may want to follow-up
0.22
0.35
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
2015 2016
Multi-YearWhyTryAverageDifferences
The Parent Project Annual Report 43
with participants to request completion of post-test forms. The use of Google Forms, Survey
Monkey, or another online survey completion technique may help ease this task for facilitators.
Butler County:
Parents and caregivers of Butler County experienced a positive outcome based on their
participation in the Parent Project. Based on the data gathered in pre- and post-tests, they
observed fewer problems among their children. Particularly, they observed fewer anger-based
issues, which allowed them to focus on problems their child may be experiencing in school or at
home. Quantitatively, caregivers felt that their families were doing better than they were prior to
completing the Parent Project. They also noticed their own parenting prowess increasing – as
evidenced by the APQ-SF and PES. The SDQ demonstrated that caregivers’ children are
showing fewer difficulties and more strengths – particularly on the Pro-Social Subscale. The
youths participating in the Parent Project also noticed improvements in their self-evaluations via
the Why Try Questionnaire.
Recommendations for Butler County primarily focus on techniques for increasing completion of
both the pre- and post-test forms. Streamlining the method by which the surveys are filled out
may boost participant follow-through. Migrating the surveys to online (with the availability of
paper copies for accessibility) will help not only the participants fill out the forms on their own
time, but automate the data coding, collection, and processing process. Additionally, migrating
the surveys to an online platform may allow participants who are potentially uncomfortable with
the level of language used on some questionnaires to look up words or email the facilitator and
ask any clarifying questions. Opening the lines of communication between participants and
facilitators may also encourage continued participation in Parent Project groups upon completion
of the ten sessions.
Preble County:
The participants in Preble County’s Parent Project saw success in the metrics used in the
evaluation. Parents and caregivers noted fewer problems in their children, most importantly,
fewer anger-related problems. They exhibited more confidence in their parenting skills, as noted
in the APQ-SF and the PES. They also noticed more pro-social behavior in their children (SDQ).
The Parent Project Annual Report 44
Finally, their self-evaluations indicated that they felt their families were experiencing more
respect and cooperation as well as were doing better after having taken part in the Parent Project.
The young people whose parents and caregivers were involved in the Parent Project also noted
an improvement in their own ability to use better reasoning, have more self-esteem, and
resilience skills.
Nearly all participants in Preble County completed the pre- and post-test survey. The retention of
participants aid in the validity of the evaluation by decreasing the selection bias unique to those
who choose to complete the evaluation tools both instances. This is likely easier due to the small
number of classes in Preble County. The facilitators have clearly done good work in ensuring
their participants follow through with full completion of the program. Larger classes would allow
for a larger data set, which would allow for more powerful analyses of the outcome data in
Preble County.
The Parent Project Annual Report 45
Appendix A: Parent Comments Butler County
What I have gained from attending The Parent Project is:
- Confidence and validation. - New tools to help my daughter not self-harm - Be consistent, to stay to what I say no matter what! To not be too busy when your kids
are needing or wanting to talk to you. Make eye contact and respect what they say so they feel you're listening.
- I have gained a better understanding on how to deal with a strong-willed child and how to correct the unwanted behaviors.
- Different ways of punishment. - New methods for addressing issues with children. - Ways to handle problems with my children. - Very good information. - Ideas on how to handle hard headed teenagers. - Learning new ways to work with my family to better ourselves. - It was great. - That I am not alone, met other parents to talk about problems - I have gained the knowledge to know when I do things right and wrong - That other parents are going through the same thing - Tools to better communicate and get the results I wanna see with my children. That I
can't control my child but I can control things - Everything. Parent Project has saved me and my daughter. I use the parenting tools to
live a better life with my daughter - Who I am and what role I am responsible for. Be accountable and present to my sons
every need with love at the forefront of every decision regarding him. Love, consistency, positive strokes, action plans, taking a time out
- I can benefit from words of other group members. Strategies for discipline learning the importance of consistency and family unit
- I am the most important person in my grandchildren's lives - How to deal with difficult situations; what to look for to prevent bad things from
happening - Other ways to deal with certain issues that arise within our family. We are NOT alone. - To be patient & calm - I learned a lot but cannot apply it to my child right now. - To be patient with my kids - I have learned to interact with my son on a respectful level, instead of negative ways.
Better ways to handle problems + positive strokes. Our relationship as a mom/son has grown stronger
- More knowledge and confidence in knowing what option to use to help my son - I have now very helpful tools and knowledge in how to communicate with my 3 children.
have applied the "teaspot" and it works good. This is a confirmation of the need for good of my family to continue updating myself, to have an open-mind at all times with them.
- Know that I am in control of my house - How to notice and understand behavior - Understanding of how to handle situations more productively - Knowing I'm not alone - Home life is improving, learned steps to take with my child and also with myself
The Parent Project Annual Report 46
- Book full of helpful info at how to deal with problems with our grandchild - Being consistent and sharing support - Learning how to not let my emotions get out of control and plan what I need to say. That
is the best. I've learned a lot, sometimes new each week. - A lot. - Love! your child needs to be safe, healthy, successful! Scare tactics don't work. - A new understanding - The children listen better - How to better handle things when my child does wrong. To be consistent with the things
I discipline. - Great support team. Lots of little steps to build on - Awareness of the problems I need to focus on before they can start or get out of control
awareness - Better ways helping each other - Learning how to communicate with my children without conflict - A lot - Friends - Many of the techniques we discussed were one I was already using to raise my daughters
as a single mother. The additional ideas will simply allow me to perform better. - A little more confidence, better skills to handle my kids – that I am not the only one
going through this - To keep my punishments - More ways to try to make a difference at home/positive change - Skills to help make my child more successful in life and help me make my family more
united - I have met some very nice people - Consistency and always use positive and negative strokes - I have saw how the TEASPOTS have really taught me a lot - Skills on how to ground them and show more love and positive strokes - I have learned a lot from this program about how to handle things better than I was doing
with my son - I have learned to deal with my son's actions in a different way for both of us - New approaches on how to handle my child - I learned new ways to improve my relationship with my children. I learned very
important ways that I need to help my child. - How to create a plan of action - Good ideas/ proven practices to implement into my parenting - Not sure. I have to reread some chapters - Need to be strong - unwavering- consistent - If only I got support from spouse - Love. be consistent. plan. give more TEASPOTS
The Parent Project Annual Report 47
Appendix B: Parent Comments Preble County
What I have gained from attending The Parent Project is:
- Patience, understanding & TEASPOT - Tools to help me better manage and communicate with my child. - I learned different ways to handle situations and to look at my son's world and his
concerns. - TEASPOT and spot checks. - Reassurance in the way I parent - I learned to have more confidence as a parent because I learned the steps to help my
child. - I learned I cannot control my child, but I can control the things around him. - Learning to listen to my child - I learned to take control and how to discipline - no response - How to be a better parent - The skills and tools to gain control of negative situations and turn it positive. Praising
& positive reinforcement. - A better understanding of how to address and respond to situations involving my child. - Some better ways to deal with punishments and his outbursts. - Tools to help me better communicate with my child. Different ways to handle situations
and look at his world and concerns.
The Parent Project Annual Report 48
Works Cited
Koren, P. E., Dechillo, N., & Friesen, B. J. (1992). Measuring empowerment in families whose
children have emotional disabilities: A brief questionnaire. Rehabilitation Psychology,
37(4), 305-321. doi:10.1037//0090-5550.37.4.305
Psychometric Properties (Validation). (n.d.). Retrieved from